


WDBZ

by shuubunni



Series: WDBZ [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Angst and Feels, Bardock Survives, Cussing, F/M, Humor, M/M, Multi, OC X CANON, OCs - Freeform, Raditz Survives, Retelling, Romance, Slow Burn, Srsly my OC Watzu Cusses SO MUCH, Srsly this fic will have it all when I'm done with it, Vegeta and Goku switch places, kakaveg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25774345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shuubunni/pseuds/shuubunni
Summary: What would happen if Goku and Vegeta switched places? A whole lot of mischief, that's what! With their roles reversed, Vegeta ends up learning from the Turtle School of Martial Arts and embarks on on a lifetime of adventures; while Kakarot sets out on a lifetime of war and chaos. What other changes will come with this switch? What other mayhem will ensue?Filled with action, adventure, humor, angst and romance! WDBZ has got it all for those who dare to dive into this long endeavor with me! A fanfiction I've been working on since the late 90's, this is the 5th incarnation that I hope to finish! This is very much a passion project and I really hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it!This fanfiction also consists of OC's (look at the tags!) and OC x Canon. There is also Kakaveg at some point. If neither is your cuppa, this is not the fic for you. Ships are listed as they are. There will be more later, but for now all of the usual warnings are up. There may be side stories of smut but I will be marking them as thus, but it won't be in the main story.I also apologize for action sequences. Lol.
Relationships: Bardock/Original Female Character, Kakarot/Vegeta (Dragon Ball), Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Son Goku/Vegeta (Dragon Ball), Vegeta (Dragon Ball)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: WDBZ [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1869808
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Party Crasher

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, guys, my OC Watzu swears A LOT. Please don't read if constant f-bombs bother you. It's one of her character traits is she just casually cusses.

When he touched down on the planet’s soil, he thought it was suitable.

Raditz scanned the landscape of the planet the locals called, “Earth.” It was fairly pretty here, ranging from forests to grasslands, deserts and wastelands, even sprawling cities. Not that the cities were of any consequence to him, the local populace being so weak that they could be batted aside like mere flies by the likes of him! He was, after all,  _ Raditz. _

Tapping his finger to his scouter, the thing fired up and beeped incessantly. Alien writing labeled power levels off in the distance. Raditz scanned the horizon, taking in each of the readings. A blip here, a few there, but nothing out of the ordinary. Perfect place for the Rebellion to settle in. It was quiet, out of the way, in the neutral zone...so far in the space boonies that nobody cared about this part of the galaxy at all. An excellent staging zone, if he said so himself. 

Suddenly, something pinged. A higher power level. “What’s this?” He narrowed his eyes. “Six hundred and seventy two?” That was odd. Most of the power levels he got were only in the single digits. And over there, another blip in the same direction. “Four hundred and four? Seven hundred and twenty six? Who  _ is _ that over there?” More popped up and the scouter detected how far away they were; all clustered together, too. Narrowing his thick eyebrows, Raditz snorted. 

“Well, they’re no match for the likes of  _ me _ , or anyone else in the Rebellion.” Cracking his neck, he decided it was best to check it out. It was abnormal for the other nearby readings he was getting, and the cluster was close to where he had landed. Only a few hundred kilometers off! 

“Well, time to go!” A grin plastered itself across his face. He was only planning to scout the planet, but it seemed like he  _ might _ be getting some action! It got his Saiyajin blood pumping! Shooting into the sky, he blasted off in the direction of the power levels, cackling as he did. 

This was going to be far more  _ exciting _ than he was originally expecting it to be! 

\------

“I am  _ not _ arm wrestling you!”

The entire gang had gathered together for a large luncheon at Capsule Corp., courtesy of one Bulma Briefs. Although everyone had kept in contact with one another, they only  _ really _ got together as one big group like this once a year, and it was high time they got together like this again! There was a (very large) buffet set up for the Saiyajins to enjoy, with enough - hopefully! - left over for their human companions. Drinks were served throughout the luncheon, and games were planned throughout! Bulma had planned it all right down to the T, which was her speciality. Had to make sure everyone had a  _ good time _ , right? 

Vegeta angrily crossed his arms and glared up at the offending person standing before him. Or rather, sitting before him. Watzu Chin, an amazon of a woman who, even sitting down, was taller than he was, her short bright pink hair pulled into a high ponytail with the tips just gracing her shoulders, with long tendrils falling in her eyes. She flexed her muscles and wiggled her fingers, already in an arm wrestling position. Her green eyes flashed up at him, and smirked, flicking her lip ring with her tongue.

“What’s the matter, Veggie Wedgie?” She snickered in her deep, booming voice, “Fuckin’  _ scared _ I’ll kick your tight ass to next week?”

Vegeta scoffed. “You  _ wish _ ,” He grumbled, narrowing his black eyes down at the half-bred Saiyajin, whose long tail flicked behind her excitedly. “No, because  _ arm wrestling _ is demeaning to us  _ both _ . If we are to prove our strength, we should spar!” 

“What? And fuckin’ ruin the nice party Bulma set up for us?” Watzu gestured around her, “No way! She obviously put a lot of damn time, effort and a  _ shitton _ of money into this event! No way in hell I’m messin’ that up!” Once again, she put her arm down on the table. “Arm wrestle me! Unless you’re fuckin’ scared.”

“I am not--”

“Oji, just do it.” Came the bedraggled sigh of Vegeta’s ever patient, ever loyal mate, a Saiyajin named Oniya. Her wild black hair was long, half-tamed into a braid, and her bright red eyes told a story that only she seemed to know. She held their five-year-old son’s hand, Kraut, who had inherited her brilliant red eyes. “It won’t hurt anyone.” 

Vegeta snapped back towards her. “But--”

“Do it, do it!” Krillin chanted with Yamcha, both of them holding up their beers. 

“Kick her butt, Daddy!” Kraut cheered. 

Grumbling, defeated, Vegeta rubbed his temples. “ _ Fine! _ ” He slid into place at the table across from Watzu. “But don’t say I did not warn you.” He gripped onto the amazonian woman’s hand, who smirked at him. 

“Get ready to  _ lose _ , your Princeliness.” She said snidely. Vegeta mirrored her smirk.

“I should say the same to  _ you _ , half-breed.” 

“Ouch, right to the damn  _ pride _ !” 

“Shut up and let's go.” 

“Alright, rules are simple!” Bulma popped up to be the referee, “Whoever’s hand touches the table first, wins! No holding onto anything with your opposite hand! Taunting is allowed!” Whipping around, she glared at Krillin, who was already collecting money from those around him. “And  _ no betting! _ ”

“Aww, but Bulma--” Krillin whined. 

“No buts, mister! Give that money back!!” With a roll of his eyes, Krillin began to pass the money back to Yamcha, Tienshinhan and Launch, as well as Bardock. Bulma side eyed the tall, buff Saiyajin. “Hey, isn’t you placing bets cheating? Mr. ‘I can see the future?’” 

Bardock coughed. “Caught me.” 

Bulma slapped him on the arm. “I  _ thought  _ so!” 

By now, Vegeta and Watzu had begun to arm wrestle. The two were struggling against one another at first, gritting their teeth and grunting. The crowd was already split between camps, cheering for their competitor. Vegeta’s was relatively small - most everyone knew Watzu was stronger than he was. Or they assumed she was. Still, he was putting up a good fight, keeping her hand in place, but not pushing it backwards. 

Watzu lifted her other hand as if to check the time. “What’s the matter, Veggie pants? Struggling so hard against my arm?” She taunted, smirking at him. 

“You’re struggling just as much as I am!” Vegeta retorted with a glare. Watzu snorted and shifted her weight slightly, gaining an upper hand, slowly moving his hand towards the table.

“Hah! How do you fucking like  _ that _ , assclown?!” She whooped. Vegeta snorted and grit his teeth, beginning to push her back upright. 

“You’ve grown soft this past year!” Vegeta laughed through the strain, seeing her face drop at him pushing her back. 

“Shit, you’ve  _ really _ been training, huh?” WIth a grunt, she pushed his hand back down, “Well, so have I!” 

“But I don’t have a cushy desk job!” Vegeta pushed the hand back up. Watzu grunted and glared at him.    
  


“Oh, piss off you son of a bitch!”

“Don’t talk about my mother like that!” He shoved her hand down closer towards the table. 

The cheering continued while they argued with each other over who was going to win, but suddenly Vegeta released her hand. Watzu did as well. Something was wrong, as both of their eyes flew towards the horizon. Watzu slammed her hands on the table and stood up, her brows furrowed.

“What the  _ fuck _ is that?”

“What is wha--” Krillin asked, but stopped when he felt it, too. Everyone did. He paled and looked in the same direction as everyone else. “It’s not...Piccolo, is it?”

“No, it’s a different aura.” Vegeta informed, his eyes narrowed and his jaw set. He clenched his fists. “I don’t know who it is, but they’re coming  _ right for us _ .” 

Little Azuuma, a light-pink haired girl of 3 with jet black eyes, scurried over towards her mother Watzu and clung to her leg. Watzu scooped her up and patted her head, narrowing her eyes towards the horizon. “It’ll be okay, baby.” 

“Eek!” Bulma gasped, “Maybe we should get the children inside, before it gets here!” She referred to not only Kraut, but Watzu and Bardock’s two children - Yamara, who was 9, and the little Azuuma. 

“It’s too late…” Oniya muttered, shielding Kraut behind her back. 

Descending from the sky came a tall, rugged looking man with a deep receding hairline and long, wild hair down to his ankles. He wore black and brown alien like armor, and had a tail just like a Saiyajin. On his face was a green eyepiece that attached to his ear. His aura was massive, and not a good one, either. 

When he landed and scanned those before him, his jaw fell open.

“Ojisama?! Ohimesama?!” He exclaimed, staring at Vegeta and Oniya. 

“Raditz?” Vegeta questioned, raising a brow. “You...didn’t die with the rest of the race?” 

“No, I…” He picked his jaw up off of the ground and swallowed, “Myself and several others survived! I had no idea that you two-- and…” He scanned the area and saw Watzu and Bardock. “...Father.” He sneered at him.

“Raditz.” Bardock replied with a cool, even tone. “Nice to see you’re doing well.”

“And you, I suppose.” Raditz narrowed his eyes. “You  _ know _ we’ve been looking everywhere for you! And you just up and vanished! Is this where you’ve been?!” 

“Here, and there.” Bardock responded with a small shrug of his shoulders. “I needed time away. But now I’m here and so are you.” 

“Hmph. So it would seem. We need you and our Oji and Ohime greatly.” Raditz continued. “I suppose the half-bred as well. She’s very powerful and we need every Saiyajin we can get our hands on now.” 

“Ex _ cuse _ me?” Watzu pointed at herself. “ _ You _ need  _ me? _ Don’t fucking make me laugh!” She waved a dismissive hand, “Whatever the fuck is going on, you can count me the fuck out! I ain’t ever fucking going back to  _ you  _ people!” 

“But--”

“Excuse me, but what the  _ hell _ is going on?” Bulma finally interjected. “Who is  _ that _ ? How do you  _ know _ him? What is he  _ talking _ about?!” 

“Ah, forgive my manners!” Raditz smirked, crossing his chest and giving a bow towards Bulma, “I am Raditz, a member of the proud Saiyajin race...or what’s left of it. I’m the eldest son of Bardock.” He said the last sentence with some disdain. “I came here on a mission for the survivors of the race. We are led by my little brother, Kakarot, in a rebellion against our overlord, a man named Frieza. We need a new outpost and as many hands as we can get! I thought Earth would be a nice fit.” 

“Earth? Well, you can’t have it! We already live here!” Krillin interjected.

“But if it’s for a rebellion…” Yamcha murmured, stroking his chin, “Besides, maybe this Frieza guy is bad news.”

Vegeta bristled, his fists clenching. “He is the one who wiped out my race.” He hissed through clenched teeth. “I will do what you need, Raditz. Tell me what you need of me.” 

“Oji, we still don’t know what exactly is going on…” Oniya cautioned in a low voice, but nodded her head, “But I will follow you to Hell and back, you know this.” 

“Excellent!” Raditz proclaimed. “Now, if the others would just come with me, we can--”

“Abso- _ fucking- _ lutely NOT!” Watzu shouted, “There is no fucking  _ way _ I am ever joining up with you!” 

“But you would be welcomed back with open arms, half-bred!” Raditz spread his arms out. 

“I have a goddamn name, jackass! It’s Watzu!”

“‘Rebellion?’ How fitting!” Raditz smirked, his eyes alight, “All will be forgiven by my brother. You would be allowed to return to--”

“I said I wasn’t  _ fucking _ interested!”

“Watzu, I think you should reconsider.” Vegeta said while he eyed her. Watzu met his expression with a glare, thrusting her arm out towards Raditz.

“Vegeta, do you have any  _ fucking _ idea what these people  _ did _ to me?! What  _ you _ did to me?!” Watzu exclaimed, all fire and fury, “I was their goddamn  _ slave! _ Used as a damn punching bag day in and day out! I was a broken toy for you bastards to use and abuse! Something that was  _ property,  _ an item to be used and thrown out when it eventually  _ broke _ !” Turning back to Raditz, she glared daggers at him, “All because I was just a half-breed. But I never broke. I got  _ stronger _ . And I sure as  _ fuck _ am never going back! So that’s it, finete! Final! Out of the goddamn fucking  _ question!! _ ” 

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. “Think of the possibilities of reconciling with your race, as you have done with me.”

“Pfft, and you see how well we get along.” Watzu hissed, “We still fight like cats and dogs! And it took me  _ years _ to start to trust you! And you know, you’re  _ not _ a total asswipe anymore! I can’t say the same for these people!”

“I have to agree with Watzu…” Bulma said nervously, “If they want our planet, we won’t give it up that easily, right?” 

“Right!” Krillin nodded his head.

“They’ll have to pry it from us.” Tien agreed, with Chiaotzu nodding his head. 

All eyes settled on Bardock. He looked towards Watzu, then swept between Raditz and Vegeta. They turned into glossy, void-like orbs that store through everything, seeing beyond them into the unseeable future. A future only he could see. It was what happened whenever he looked, peeked into the future. Or when one of his visions came to him suddenly. The power had only gotten stronger as the years had carried on, and he had seen so much it was difficult for him to keep it in check. Some things were best left unseen. 

But his eyes only remained that way for but a moment. WIth a blink, he focused back on Vegeta. “The time isn’t right yet.” 

Given that Bardock was her personal hero, Oniya tensed up. “I...Oji, please forgive me, but…” She looked towards Vegeta with furrowed brows, “I must trust Bardock’s judgement on this matter.” She bowed at her waist. 

“Feh.” Vegeta snorted. “Weaklings.” 

“Whoa, wait a minute, you’re  _ still _ going with it? Even though we’re all in agreement that it’s  _ stupid? _ ” Watzu exclaimed. Vegeta met her gaze and nodded his head. She rolled her eyes. “Fuckin’ idiot.” 

“What did you call me?!” He shouted. 

“You heard me! A fucking, boot-licking, flaming  _ idiot! _ ” Watzu shouted back. 

“Well you’re nothing but an ill-advised drama queen!”

“Shut your fuckin’ mouth, asswipe!” 

Vegeta sneered at her. “Maybe we  _ were _ right to keep you muzzled.”

Watzu’s face dropped. Then she glared deeply at him. “What did you just  _ fucking _ say?” Her hand snapped out and grabbed onto him by the collar of his gi. “What in the  _ hell _ did you fucking say to me?!” 

“Oji!” Oniya gasped, her eyes wide, “Take that back!” 

“I--”

Suddenly he was across the gardens. Watzu had punched him so hard in the face that Vegeta went flying backwards, skidding across the stone and sliding to a stop before some azalea bushes. Spitting out some blood, he glared daggers over at her. 

“What the hell are you doing, woman?!” He barked.

“Putting you in your place!” Watzu shouted after him, “I ain’t no fucking slave anymore, and I thought you were  _ better _ than this, cocksucker!” 

“Who the hell are you calling a  _ cocksucker?!” _ Vegeta was off the ground in a flash, charging towards her. 

The two exchanged punches; Vegeta throwing them and her parrying, flying backwards and towards a matching set of azalea bushes at the opposite end of the garden. Bulma shrieked when she saw how close they were getting.

“Not my azaleas!!” She shouted at them. 

Stopping in their tracks, Watzu swung a kick at Vegeta’s face, who caught her leg and went to throw her to the ground. However she swung her other leg out and nailed him in the ribs, hurtling him off to the side. She flew after him with fists drawn back, ready to strike. This time he was ready for her, righting himself in the air and catching her fists with his hands. WIth a grunt, he threw her up into the air. Ki blast charged in his hand, he fired it off towards her.

“Hah!” Flipping in the air, Watzu batted it away and off into the sky. Vegeta was already shooting towards her, punching her in the face. “Was that supposed to  _ do _ something?” Watzu chided, turning her head back against his fist. 

“You...bitch!” Vegeta shouted, punching her on the other side of her face. Once again it didn’t do much, and Watzu just grabbed his arms and thrust her knee hard into his stomach. Saliva came up from his mouth and he gagged on it. Floating backwards he held onto his aching stomach, glaring up at her. 

“Uh…” Raditz had, by now, noticed he was being ignored by this little scuffle. 

“Don’t worry, this is...normal.” Oniya assured, rubbing her temples. 

“Them fighting each other is  _ normal? _ ” Raditz looked down at her, a brow raised. 

Oniya shrugged. “It’s how they bond, I suppose.”

“Wait, they’re  _ friends?! _ ” 

A disgruntled sigh, “Sometimes, I wonder.” 

The two were still scuffling while this was going on; trading blows back and forth, but it was obvious Vegeta was losing. Watzu was knocking him around like a hackysack, left right and center. “How much do you  _ wish _ you never fucking said that to me now, huh?! Asswipe!!” And other such comments kept flowing from her mouth while she beat the crap out of Vegeta. 

Suddenly, a burst of power came from the ground. A little form flew up from the gardens and got between the two of them. And kicked Watzu in the chin. 

She went flying backwards from the force of the kick. “Ow! What the hell--” Her head snapped back into position, rubbing her aching jaw. A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. Between her and Vegeta floated Kraut. His shoulder length, spiky hair flowed in the breeze. 

“K-Kraut?!” Vegeta gasped, surprised his son was strong enough to land such a blow on the likes of  _ Watzu _ . 

The five-year-old glared at her with his bright red eyes. “Stop beating up my dad!” He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Watzu. His aura flared, sparked; it was fluctuating between dangerously high and what it usually felt like. It was that he wasn’t in control of his own ki, or maybe his emotions, or a little bit of both. 

But his raging aura was  _ strong _ . Stronger than anyone present. “Like, what the  _ hell. _ ” Watzu mumbled, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. 

_ How is his power level rising so much? _ Raditz thought, narrowing his eyes at what the scouter was displaying.  _ I’ve never seen anything like it!  _

“Leave him alone!” Kraut reiterated. 

Raising her hands in defeat, Watzu cocked a half-assed smirk. “Alright, alright. I’ll stop.” She shot Vegeta a glare over the tykes head, “As long as he apologizes.” 

“Feh.” Vegeta snorted, casting his eyes down towards the ground. “That was unworthy of me, what I said. I apologize.” 

“Fine.” Watzu crossed her arms and lowered back down towards the ground. Vegeta looked towards Kraut and gave him a nod of his head. 

“I’m proud of what you did there.” He noted. That was enough to get the kid to beam at his father, flying in to hug him. Vegeta went stiff in the five year old’s arms, merely hovering there while he was being hugged and grunting. Kraut grinned and released his father, grabbing his hand and practically  _ dragging _ him back down towards the ground. Vegeta complied with a disgruntled look on his face. 

Someone else was intrigued by Kraut’s little performance. High above and off to the side of the events taking place, with his power level squeezed down to nothing, floated Piccolo. He had sensed Raditz’s power level and went to go check it out, and found himself curious at Kraut’s little reaction. Maybe with some tweaking and training, he might be able to use this information…

With Vegeta and Watzu calmed down, Raditz crossed his arms and furrowed his brows. “Well, now that you two are done with your little  _ lovers spat _ …”

“We’re not lovers, for fucks sake!” Watzu groaned, running her hand through her long tendrils. “Vegeta’s got Oniya and I got my man right here,” She gestured over her shoulder towards Bardock. Raditz was about to comment that it was good that the prince and adopted princess ended up together, but stopped at the last part of her sentence. His jaw fell open and he gaped at her, then at Bardock, then back again, and finally back at Bardock.

“You...and the  _ half-breed?! _ ” He exclaimed, pointing at Watzu dramatically. “How could you betray  _ mother _ like that?! How could you do that to  _ yourself?! _ ” 

Bardock narrowed his eyes at Raditz. “Your mother is gone, boy. Gine would understand that I would want to move on with my life without her.” He then grabbed Watzu by the waist and leaned up to kiss her on the cheek. “I found love elsewhere. That she is a half-breed  _ shouldn’t matter. _ To you, or to anyone.” He glared at his son, “She is more than enough of a woman to take you, or anyone else, out.” 

“Yeah, my mommy is stronger than anyone!” Yamara, a girl with bright red hair in spiky pigtails and blood red eyes, shouted at Raditz. She stuck her tongue out at him. Little Azuuma just clung to her father’s legs, not saying a word.

But she looked up at Raditz without a drop of fear in her black eyes. It was like she _ knew  _ something...something more about him that no one else there did. 

“‘Mommy?’” Raditz grit his teeth, “Don’t tell me you’ve had children with her, too?!” 

“What I choose to do is none of your business, Raditz.” Bardock said, tightening his grip on Watzu’s waist. 

“Bet they can kick your ass, too.” Watzu grumbled under her breath, patting Yamara’s head. She beamed up at her mother. “Look, Raditz, stop your grumbling about us and just, I don’t know, fucking  _ leave? _ There’s nothing here for you, dipshit.” 

“But you all are here, and I won’t take no for an--”

“But the answer  _ is _ no.” Vegeta asserted. He rose up to his feet from where he knelt with Kraut, his eyes narrowed at Raditz. “I’ve changed my mind. I’ll kill Frieza on my  _ own _ terms.” 

Raditz glared, cold and dark at Vegeta. “Ojisama, forgive me for disobeying you but - I can’t take that answer.” Uncrossing his arms he planted his feet. “You’re coming with me, whether you like it or not!” 

“Feh.” Vegeta narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. “I’d like to see you try.” Then, he smirked confidently. “If you manage to defeat me, I’ll go with you.  _ Gladly. _ ” 

“Oji…” Oniya looked at her mate with shock in her red eyes. Looking between him and Raditz, she closed her eyes for a moment. Taking in a deep breath, she opened them and looked across at Raditz. “I agree as well. If you can defeat my Ojisama, I will also go with you.” 

Watzu wasn’t having any of this, “Are you both  _ nuts?! _ ” 

“Watzu.” Bardock cautioned, placing a steady hand on her shoulder. He gestured towards Raditz with his head, but said nothing more. Watzu looked between father-and-son, but merely harumphed and crossed her arms, obviously not understanding what her mate was getting at. Her long tail twitched with aggravation. 

“ _ Whatever. _ ” She commented, dryly. 

“Do we have a deal?” Vegeta offered his hand for Raditz to shake. Raditz smirked; Vegeta’s power level was only at six hundred and seventy two, and had remained there, even during his little scuffle with Watzu. Far below the likes of him,  _ Raditz. _ This would be a cake walk! He easily took the smaller Saiyajin’s hand and gave it a hardy shake. 

“Yes we do. Shall we take this somewhere less...filled with azaleas?” He wrinkled his nose at them, reminded of that shrieking blue-haired Earthling. Not that Raditz knew what an azalea  _ was _ . 

Vegeta looked over at Bulma. “You  _ better. _ ” She huffed with crossed arms, narrowing her blue eyes. So many strong women he found himself in the company of...it was a wonder how he singled out Oniya out of all of them! “My azaleas have won prizes, and I’m not about to have them crushed because some  _ alien _ arrived and decided to cart you away!” 

Vegeta was about to interject that she knew he was  _ also _ an alien; but stopped short. That was an argument he did  _ not _ want to have. Bulma would win. She always won, somehow. Even when she was  _ wrong _ . He huffed at her and rose off of the ground. “Come.” He said simply, before darting across the horizon and towards a cozy little wasteland he knew about. 

Unsurprisingly, the others followed.

\-----

Surprisingly, Piccolo showed up. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Vegeta demanded. Why would his once-rival just show up in the middle of them going to some field in the middle of nowhere so he could kick Raditz’ ass? The green skinned demon glared down at him and snorted. 

“For one, I want to see how strong you’ve gotten.” Piccolo informed, his tone straight and matter-of-fact, “I’m also curious about your brat. He pulled quite a kick, especially against  _ Watzu _ of all people.” He pointed over his shoulder to where Kraut was standing with Oniya. Kraut glared at Piccolo, knowing  _ exactly _ who he was, and stuck out his tongue. Piccolo glowered at him. 

“You will not touch my son!” Vegeta snapped, clenching his fists and shaking one at Piccolo. The green giant scoffed. 

“Wasted talent training with  _ you _ .” Piccolo retorted. 

“I hate to break up the party, but there  _ are _ more important things at stake here.” Raditz interjected, shoving between the arguing rivals. “Like me kicking some princely behind, right?” He tossed a smirk down at Vegeta, who glared up at him.

“Hmph.” Vegeta crossed his arms. “We’ll see about that.” 

Piccolo snorted, scrutinizing Raditz, looking at him up and down. “You’re no match for Vegeta.” He said, turning on his heel and walking away. 

“What did you say, green man?!” Raditz shouted, shaking a fist after Piccolo, who went to join the others...well, he wasn’t  _ near _ them per-say, but in the general vicinity. He merely rolled his eyes at Raditz, who decided he would kill Piccolo for saying that. Once he was done with Vegeta, of course! With an indigent huff, he whipped back around and faced Vegeta, who had his arms crossed. “Well, I won’t listen to the likes of him. I’m a Saiyajin warrior! And you’ve grown  _ soft _ on this planet, Oji. I won’t hold back, and neither should you!” 

“Oh, really?” Vegeta cocked a brow up. “You say you  _ don’t _ want me to hold back?” 

“Absolutely not! I want to defeat you at your  _ full power! _ ” Raditz cackled, believing that, of course, this  _ was _ Vegeta’s full power and strength. Vegeta rolled his neck and planted his feet at shoulders length, dropping his arms to his sides.

“Well, it’s your funeral.” He smirked a cocksure grin. And began to groan. 

The earth below his feet began to split apart. Raditz’ scouter pinged. “Wha--what?!” He exclaimed, the readings he received already exceeding the thousand mark. Vegeta’s voice grew louder the more power he released from his bounds, the more the earth began to split and crack and shake below his feet. Higher and higher the power level beeped for his power level, and soon it exceeded Raditz’ own. “Im...Impossible…!! How can he be hiding so much energy…?!”

“He ain’t even halfway!” Watzu shouted from the peanut gallery. 

“That’s...th-that can’t be--” 

The scouter clicked in place. Forty five hundred. Vegeta stopped groaning and the air around him calmed down, and the ground stopped shaking. “There. That’s roughly one-quarter of my full power...enough for you?” He smirked. 

“I-- I can’t...that can’t be--” Raditz stuttered, completely shocked by what he was seeing. 

With a single pop of his neck, Vegeta struck. 

His fist came out and landed, hard, against the side of Raditz’ face. The blow knocked some teeth right out of the long-haired Saiyajin’s mouth, blood spraying from it. His entire body was knocked in that direction, but he didn’t even get to fall down. Vegeta’s knee came up and struck the side of his head, which sent him soaring into the air.

Raditz didn’t even get to react when Vegeta was upon him in the air, thrusting his elbow out and knocking him hard in the head (again) and allowing him to bounce off of the ground several times and crashing through a wall of trees. Charging a simple ki blast, he released it after the fallen Saiyajin and let it fly, where it collided where Raditz fell and released a sizable explosion. 

It took a moment for the dust to clear and for Raditz to get back up. He wiped the blood from his mouth and shook his head, panting. “Okay...not bad…” He muttered, feeling dazed from so many blows to the head. “But I’m better! Double Sunday!” He released a pink beam of energy from each hand and shot them towards Vegeta, who watched them come. 

At the last moment, Vegeta held his cupped hands out, “Kamehameha!” He shouted, releasing a beam of dazzling blue energy that met Raditz’ bright pink beams headon. It wasn’t much of a clash; the Kamehameha easily over-took the Double Sunday, blowing it backwards and into the wooded area where Raditz stood. He saw the beam heading straight on for him and tried to make his escape, but it was too late; it was headed right for him when he tried to run off. 

It collided with the ground and released a huge explosion of bright blue energy, engulfing the wooded area - and Raditz with it - in it’s fury. Vegeta crossed his arms and waited for the dust to clear,  _ again _ , and see how much fight was left in Raditz after that. 

Raditz staggered out of the ditch the Kamehameha had created, his armor mostly destroyed and his body bruised and bloody. He looked up at Vegeta and scowled. “L-Lucky shot.” He grumbled. Vegeta sighed. 

“You want more? I can give you more.” 

“I...I got more in me!” Raditz spat out some more blood and bounced from his left foot to his right several times, before wincing and gripping his ribs. “Ow, ow…” 

“Heh, it looks like you’re done.” Vegeta uncrossed his arms and strolled over towards the wincing Raditz. He kicked him in the sides, which caused him to keel over. “I believe I win.”

Raditz coughed. “Al-alright...you win…” Groaned the broken and beaten man. Vegeta powered down back to his usual power level. “Kill me then.” Raditz grunted, waiting for the final blow. 

“What? I’m not going to kill you.” Vegeta crossed his arms, “That wasn’t part of the deal. I defeated you so you leave me, and my family, alone.” 

Raditz narrowed his eyes, “Who's to say I won’t come back stronger and defeat you then?!” 

“I look forward to it.” Vegeta flashed a confident smirk. 

“ _ Weak. _ ” Raditz muttered, almost bitterly. “This planet has truly made you  _ soft,  _ Ojisama.” 

“I am not weak, nor soft.” Vegeta scowled down at him, “I just don’t see the point in killing someone as weak as  _ you _ .” An almost playful smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Raditz felt  _ insulted _ by this comment. But he had to admit that he was defeated, and thoroughly so. 

“ _ Whatever. _ ” Raditz grunted and coughed again, struggling to get back up. He was ashamed. There was no doubt about it. “I believe I will stay here, then.” Raditz announced once he rose up to his full height, still holding his aching ribs. 

“What.” 

“I cannot face my fellow Saiyajins as I am right now.” Raditz held his hands out to his sides and shook his head. “I must train! And find the strength you so easily found here.” 

Vegeta narrowed his eyes and mused on this. “Fine, do as you please.” It wasn’t like he could say  _ no _ to the poor guy. He didn’t pose a threat to them right now, anyway. And he turned away, returning to his mate and child. 

“Way to go, Dad!” Kraut cheered. 

“I’m proud of you, Oji.” Oniya smiled, “You handled that masterfully.” She leaned against him as best she could, being a few inches taller than he. Vegeta wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek. 

“Of course I did.” 

“Well, now we gotta figure out what to do with him, I guess…” Watzu muttered while she scratched her head. “I sure hope he’s fuckin’ housebroken.” 


	2. Earthbound

“You sure this is a good idea?” Watzu asked for the upteenth time that night. 

She and Bardock lay in bed together while Raditz was crashing on their couch. He was too tall for it but they had no room for him anywhere else in their flat. The girls had their own rooms, but Watzu sure as hell wasn’t going to let him sleep in either of their rooms. But they didn’t have a guest room to speak of, and without anywhere else to go…

“He’ll be fine, Watzu.” Bardock assured, once again for the upteenth time. “It’s not like he poses any threat to us, anyway.” He shrugged. “Yamara could probably defeat him on her own. She’s already a strong lass despite her age, and don’t forget her pyromancy.” 

Watzu snorted, blowing some of her bangs from her face. “What about Azuuma? You know how much I worry about her...she’s only 3, and hasn’t uttered a single word…” 

“Azuuma is...complicated.” Bardock stated with his brows furrowed. Of everyone whose future he could see clear as day, he couldn’t get a read on Azuuma’s. It wasn’t to say she had no future, but hers was unknown to him. Something was strange with that girl...but he had no idea what  _ was _ strange about her. Neither of them did. “I know you’re worried about her, Watzu. But I trust she’ll be fine, especially around Raditz.” He kissed her temple. “If he does anything untoward with  _ either _ of them, I’ll give him a beating of his  _ lifetime _ . They’re his sisters afterall.” 

“Ugh, don’t fuckin’ remind me.” Watzu grimaced and stuffed her head under the pillow. “I do  _ not _ want to be the step-mother to  _ that _ thing.” 

“Too late.” 

“I hate it when you’re right.” Watzu elbowed him in the sides. “Asshole.” Bardock merely chuckled. 

There was a quiet knock on the door, before it creaked open. Azuuma was standing there. Tears dotted her eyes, though she did not cry. Watzu sat bolt upright in bed. 

“Azuuma, sweetie! What’s wrong?!” She held her arms out for the little girl. Azuuma ran for her and leaped into her arms, wrapping her tiny hands around her mother. She silently cried against Watzu, not uttering one sound, though tears flowed from her black eyes. Bardock looked concerned but did not touch her. “Come now, sweetheart. Tell me what’s wrong.” Azuuma shook her head, her sugar pink locks moving to and fro with the movement. 

“Is it Raditz? Did he do something?” Watzu asked. Another shake of her head. Pursing her lips, Watzu looked towards Bardock. “Can’t you see something?” 

“No. I never can when it comes to her, you know that.” Bardock responded shortly. “Maybe she just had a nightmare.” 

“Heh, I thought Saiyajins were too strong to have those.” Watzu chuckled half-heartedly, “Yamara never did, at least. I know I do sometimes, because of my other half…” 

Bardock furrowed his brows. “Maybe…” Watzu looked over towards him. 

“Maybe?” 

“No, it’s nothing.” Bardock hmphed and crossed his arms. “Coddling her will do her no good. She must be strong. Send her off to bed, Watzu.” 

Watzu shot him a look, but conceded. “Alright, baby. Dry those tears. Everything will be alright.” She wiped Azuuma’s tears and patted her on the head. “You’re fine, see?” 

Azuuma looked up at her mother and sniffled. She met Watzu’s cheerful gaze. For a moment, her eyes went bottomless, like an unending void in their black depths. Seeing nothing reflected back, no light, not even her own reflection, unsettled Watzu. She was taken aback by the look in those empty eyes, raising her brows and looking somewhat nervously over at Bardock. An uneasy feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. But just as those eyes looked at her, Azuuma blinked and they returned to normal. 

Silently, the child nodded her head and scooted off the bed, wobbling to her feet. She waved at her parents and toddled out the door, closing it behind her. Watzu let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding, looking back at Bardock. 

“What the hell was that?” 

\------

“Your training begins today.”

With his wounds (mostly) healed, Raditz was eager to begin training to reclaim his Saiyajin honor. To his surprise, his own father - whom he thought believed Raditz was a disappointment - decided to train him. Maybe it was to make him less of a disappointment. With his armor and scouter destroyed, he was given a simple outfit called a “gi” of black and brown. It didn’t bare his fine legs, but otherwise was suitable. 

Raditz jumped from one foot to another and then cracked his neck, eager to get going. “Very well then! Let’s see what you got!” 

Bardock stood with his arms crossed, and raised a brow. “We’re not sparring today.” 

Raditz dropped in disappointment. “ _ What. _ What do you  _ mean _ we’re not sparring?! Isn’t that the point of training?” 

“No. Today we’re going to teach you how to sense, read, and hide your energy.” Bardock informed in a matter-of-fact tone. “It’s essential if you’re going to be staying here.” 

“But--”

“You’ll be wearing a blindfold for this.” Bardock produced a blindfold and wrapped it around his son’s eyes. 

“Father, I don’t understand how this is relevant to--”

“Begin.” Suddenly a seering blast of pain hit Raditz in the knee. 

“Ow!” He gasped, jumping onto the other foot. It wasn’t a serious blast, certainly not enough to cause any real damaget; just a minor burn like if you touched the side of a hot pan for less than a second. Or if someone whacked your knuckles with a stick. “What the hell are you  _ doing?! _ ” 

“Use your senses to tell where the energy is coming from. Again.” Another blast hit him, this time in the shoulder. 

“Ouch!” 

This continued for several hours. Raditz had no idea how many of these little pinpricks he had suffered, but he felt like a damn pin cushion when it was time for lunch! And he still hadn’t learned a damned thing. His father was still as much of a stoic asshole as he always was, and this wasn’t helping their already strained relationship any. 

After lunch, it was blindfold time again and more pinpricks! Raditz was getting tired of this. Getting tired of dealing with the little stabs of pain, often without warning, all over his body. He just got better, too! Now he was getting wounded all over again, no thanks to  _ this  _ asshole.

“Rrrgg,  _ enough!! _ ” Raditz finally shouted, whipping around with his hand out. A stinging surge of pain radiated from the side of his palm, and he heard a blast collide with a tree off in the distance. Wait,  _ what? _

“Very good. Again.” Another blast was fired at him. Raditz swatted it away without even seeing it. How did he know it was coming? And where it was coming from? Another blast; a feeling sparked and he swatted it away, as if on instinct. Not a fluke, then! If he batted them away three times from three different directions, then it meant he was learning! How in the hell had he done it so easily, just like--

“Ow!” The forth one hit him on the right side of his hip. He whipped around towards the source and grit his teeth, feeling his father back there.

“Pay attention.” Bardock snapped. “The lesson isn’t over yet.” 

“But I’m  _ doing  _ it--youch!” Another stinging pain on his upper left arm. Raditz bared his teeth at his father, glaring at him behind his blindfold. Okay, so he needed to  _ focus _ more. Apparently three wasn’t enough for dear ol’ dad. No more getting lost in his own thoughts, he needed to pay attention!

There! He swatted a forth one aside and heard it hit a rock somewhere. A fifth, a sixth - so on and so forth. He kept batting them aside, turning left and right, front and back while Bardock moved around him so swiftly it was making Raditz dizzy. He could feel where his father was zipping about the clearing, but it was hard to keep track of him and where the blasts were coming from at the same time. He had to focus only on the blasts or else he’d miss a few - and he did here and there - but he kept getting quicker and cleaner with them. 

Finally, his father fired off a much bigger blast at him. Raditz grunted and fired his own blast to counter it, the two colliding and creating a sizable explosion. Bardock stopped moving around and stood before him.

“Very good. I believe you’ve learned this well.” 

“Are we done, then?” Raditz asked, eager to get the blindfold off of him. 

“Fine. Take it off.” Music to his ears! Raditz eagerly removed the blindfold and tossed it aside, taking a gander around the now very-scrotched clearing they stood in. He smirked at his handy work and chuckled. 

“Not bad, eh?” He gestured towards the burned tree behind him. 

“Don’t get cocky.” Bardock warned, “But yes, you did good for your first day.” He turned on his heel and began to walk away, “Tomorrow we learn how to suppress your aura. After that, the  _ real _ training begins.” 

\------

“So...I’m training with  _ him? _ ” 

Kraut stood in the training grounds his father frequented, not far from their home. It was early in the morning, and both his parents stood behind him...and his father’s rival, Piccolo, before him.

“That’s right.” Piccolo said with a nod of his head. “Don’t expect me to go easy on you just because you’re a kid, either.” 

What had happened several days ago was a long argument between the three adults about training Kraut. Piccolo had arrived and insisted he train the tyke, given his hidden potential and Saiyajin blood. He would be ideal since he wasn’t the kid’s parent, and wouldn’t hold back at all on training him. Vegeta, of course, refused; no way he was letting his rival train his child. Besides, he should learn both the Turtle School way of martial arts, as well as the way Saiyajins fight. It was his birthright. Oniya was the ice breaker between the two headstrong men, stating they could take turns training Kraut. Piccolo in the morning, Vegeta in the afternoon, and she would train him solely on the weekends on the mixed martial arts she had picked up during her own travels.

Besides, it would be beneficial to Kraut to learn as many forms of fighting as possible. The stronger he became, the better. 

So, here he was. With his new tutor. 

“Make me proud, son.” Was all Vegeta said before leaving. “I’ll be back after lunch…” He narrowed his eyes at Piccolo. “And I  _ will _ have my time to train with him, mark my words.” 

“Hmph.” Piccolo merely crossed his arms at the thinly veiled threat. 

“I’ll bring lunch around for both of you - just water for you, correct?” Oniya confirmed with Piccolo, who nodded his head. “Good luck, Kraut. And good training.” She bowed politely to Piccolo and followed Vegeta into the skies, heading back towards home. 

“Alright, you little brat. It’s time for some intense training.” Piccolo tossed off his cloak and hat, giving his neck a pop. “I assume you know the basics.” 

“Dad’s been training me since I could walk.” Kraut informed, somewhat nervously. He had no idea what to expect from Piccolo. 

“Good. Then come at me.” 

Kraut nodded. He took a fighting stance and eyed Piccolo. There were a lot of openings in his posture; he was expecting Kraut to attack him, that was for sure. But something told him there was a trap laying in wait. This was going to be tough. Especially since this was the man who could tangle with his father. Vegeta never eased up on training Kraut either. Why would Piccolo be any different?

After sizing him up, Kraut struck. He leaped forward, swung to strike the knee of Piccolo. Piccolo lifted his leg and kicked Kraut in the side. Kraut went rolling off to the side. He thrust his hands out and righted himself. Piccolo was already on him, throwing a punch town towards the lad. Kraut was ready and blocked the punch. The force shot him backwards. His feet dragged through the dirt. He grunted charged again. But was met with another fist to the face. This one sent him into a tree. 

It was clear Piccolo wasn’t using his full power right now. At his full power he’d probably crush Kraut’s skull or at least break some of his teeth. All he had was a bloody nose. The tree didn’t even break! He slid down it and wiped the blood from his nose and groaned. This was going to be hard. 

“Keep coming at me! Don’t give up the heat!” Piccolo barked. Kraut snorted in some blood and rushed again. Kraut threw punches and kicks, but Piccolo dodged each one. He didn’t land a single blow. In thanks Piccolo kicked him in the side, grabbed him by the arm and threw him towards the ground. Kraut righted himself before he could touch down. Piccolo charged a ki blast and threw it at him, Kraut rolling to the side before it could hit him. It formed a crater below him, joining the multitudes of others that littered the sparsely forested area that Vegeta called his training grounds. 

“Weak! Pathetic!” Piccolo shouted in frustration, “You’re a coward! Come at me as if you mean to  _ kill _ me! Use your full power, Kraut!” 

“I’m not a coward!” Kraut shouted back, “I am the son of the Prince of the Saiyajins!!” He shot forward and nailed Piccolo square in the jaw. His head snapped back.. But Piccolo just lowered his head back down against the boy’s fist, glaring at him.

“In a  _ real _ fight, you’d be cast aside like  _ dead weight! _ ” Piccolo shouted, chopping him in the sides and then kneeing him in the stomach. Salvia expelled from Kraut’s mouth, the wind knocked clear from his lungs. He hovered backwards, holding his aching stomach and staring wide-eyed at Piccolo. “I’ve seen you actually  _ hurt _ Watzu! You are  _ better _ than this! Show me your anger, your  _ full power,  _ weakling!” 

“Rrgg...I am not  _ weak!! _ ” Kraut roared, a red aura flaring up around him. His power level spiked and he shot forward. He buried both hands into Piccolo’s stomach. Piccolo flew backwards with an ‘oof.’ The five-year-old struck Piccolo in the jaw with his fist. Finally, he finished his onslaught with a kick to the ribs. Piccolo grabbed onto Kraut’s leg this time. He hurled him towards the ground. 

“Heh, not bad, kid.” Piccolo noted, “I need more of that and less whining! Keep that rage, remember that  _ feeling!  _ That  _ power! _ I want you to tap into that whenever you’re in a fight! Release it!!” 

“Rraarrrgg!!” Kraut screamed and charged again. 

\------

“Is this  _ really _ necessary?” 

Raditz was out in town with his father and - groan -  _ step-mother _ . He was job hunting. Him! A Saiyajin warrior! Who had to train endlessly to reclaim his honor!  _ Needing a job! _

“I sure as hell can’t fucking pay to feed  _ another _ Saiyajin in my household!” Watzu hissed, glaring at him. Damn, even with his height, she was  _ still _ taller than he was! How the hell did she get so tall? “Even with what both Bardock and myself earn at each of our jobs, we can’t fuckin’ keep up feeding you, too!” 

“But--I need to be  _ training! _ ” Raditz complained. 

“No complaining! If we can train around our jobs, you can fuckin’ do it too!” Watzu gave him a shove. He liked her better when she was quiet and subservient. With a roll of his eyes he marched forward towards the first place he was going to apply for. 

They wandered around the city for what felt like  _ hours _ (it was actually 20 minutes), going into places and picking up a huge stack of job applications for Raditz. It ranged from everything from food services to security jobs. Anything and  _ every _ thing. Raditz was  _ not _ looking forward to this. How could they do this to him?! He was  _ Raditz! _ A Saiyajin warrior! Not some...soft lapdog of this planet! He could hunt for his own food, thank you very much! 

But the food Watzu made was a  _ lot  _ tastier...mmm, just thinking about it was making him hungry! Ugh, was it time for lunch already? 

“When do we eat?” Bardock asked. Music to his ears! 

Watzu checked her phone, where a clock was. “Shit, it is lunch time…” She looked around where they were. “Well, there’s a Chinese buffet over there...we’d clear them out completely though.” 

“Bah! Who cares?! Let’s go!” Raditz was already charging off in that direction. He didn’t even care whatever this “chinese” or “buffet” was, as long as it was food! Watzu gulped. 

“Well, time for two and a half Saiyajins to scare the general populace I guess.” She said to no one, as Bardock was already halfway across the street too. She shrugged her shoulders and followed after them. 

\-------

So, jobs.

Jobs were, like,  _ really hard. _

He started at McDonalds. Raditz hated it. Being around all that food and not being able to eat it. Being… _ nice _ to people. It was miserable. He got fired pretty quick for mouthing off to upper management too many times. 

Next was an office job as a mail clerk. Raditz hated that, too. All of the  _ papercuts _ . He was a Saiyajin warrior! Why did paper hurt so goddamn much?! It was dark and boring and he had no one to talk to. He fired himself from that job (quitting? he believed it was called?). Watzu was furious at him. There were a lot of f-bombs dropped during that conversation. Err, shouting match, rather.

Following that was a job at a school cafeteria, serving food. More food he couldn’t eat. Not that he wanted to, the food looked and smelled  _ disgusting. _ But he had to be nice to people again. And…around  _ children _ . He hated children (his sisters were alright, he supposed). They were so loud and shouty and screamed and shrieked and THREW THINGS AT HIM - including the food! - and he may have lost his temper and threw something back and broke a kids jaw. Thankfully Watzu talked her way out of a “lawsuit” (whatever that was), but he obviously lost the job. 

The next job he actually  _ liked _ . It was manual labor with construction. Raditz got to move heavy objects! Break apart concrete! Become the forklift! Much to the surprise of his co-workers, he could lift the things their machines normally had to lift. How weak Earthlings were. Moreover, he didn’t need to be nice to people. He could just go about his job, digging and breaking and moving things and have a grand ol’ time doing it. And everyone was too scared of his super strength to talk back to him! Even the foreman! Things were great. 

When he wasn’t on the construction site, using heavy things as part of his training regime, Raditz was busy training with Bardock. The man was  _ relentless. _ He beat the tar out of Raditz for some kind of “lesson” and would walk off like something disappointing happened! 

_ Of course it fucking did, you asshole! _ Raditz would often think bitterly, his resentment for his father only growing.  _ I don’t even know what you’re trying to teach me! _

Raditz couldn’t keep up with the relentless training Bardock was subjecting him too. Always a hardass, his father was. But he wouldn’t get stronger if he didn’t train. And Saiyajins always got stronger the more they got beaten down...so there was  _ some _ sense to the madness. Raditz could feel his strength growing with each day. He looked forward to a time when he could match the old bastard head-on in one of these sparring matches! Then he’d  _ really _ show him who was boss!! 

Without even realizing it, a year had passed on Earth. Raditz’ time there flew by in an instant, and it didn’t feel like that much time had passed. He enjoyed his job, his co-workers feared him, and he was now considerably stronger than he was before. He could even match his younger sister, Yamara! Who was apparently stronger than he was when he arrived. How pathetic he truly was, to be so readily beaten by a 9 year old. 

It was a wonder how Kakarot ever allowed him into the army. Probably out of brotherly sympathy. 

He was now a regular with the others. He trained with the likes of Krillin and Tienshinhan, as well as the occasional bout with Vegeta and Oniya. Soon, he would be strong enough to tangle seriously with Vegeta! And he looked forward to that day. 

But that day wouldn’t come...


	3. Cabbage Patch

With a start, Watzu woke up.

Heart pounding and with a cold sweat running down her back, she couldn’t catch her breath. Running a shaking hand down her face, she stared straight ahead at nothing in particular. With a groan she realized it was just a dream, but it left an unsettled pit in her stomach. Placing her face in her hands, she took a few breaths to try and steady herself. 

Bardock was still asleep at her side, arm draped over her waist. Of  _ course _ he was still asleep. Damned fool could sleep through a hurricane. He’d probably make sense of the dream she just had, too. Knew more about this kind of shit then Watzu did. But any time she had a dream like this,  _ bad things usually happened.  _

With a groan, she slung her heavy legs over the edge of the bed and staggered to her feet. Most of the time her dreams were a jumbled  _ mess _ . Chaotic things like Raditz playing hockey with the Dragonballs. Not that he knew anything about them, everyone had been very hush-hush about them so far. Or other silly things like Yamara being Rapunzel and there were singing, flying unicorns and Shenlong was there and--yeah, stupid things, like that. 

Not tonight.

Staggering into the bathroom, Watzu splashed some cold water on her face in an effort to calm down. She then stared at her bedraggled reflection in the mirror. In the past year she had let her hair grow out, it was now down nearly to her waist. “Ugh…” She groaned, leaning her forehead against the top of the mirror, she was so tall. 

_ What a fucking nightmare _ . 

It was darkness all around, until a flash fell from the sky. Then another, and another; until the sky was lit up with what looked like meteors, all crashing down to the Earth. But something told her they weren’t meteors, as an army dressed in black appeared from it. They were overwhelmed by the army, led by a particularly spiky looking figure. They eventually engulfed the world in black flames, herself included. Of course, she couldn’t make heads or tails out of it, she wasn’t psychic in the way Bardock was. Nothing was ever  _ clear _ in her dreams, but they usually came true. Somewhat.

And it left a bitter pit growing in her stomach. Something was  _ very _ wrong. 

Wouldn’t he warn them if something big was coming? Something huge? Watzu sighed and splashed more water on her face. Of course he would. But, thinking back on it--

He never warned them about King Piccolo. Or even his son. Krillin had died back then, so did Master Roshi. If they had been  _ warned _ , they could have avoided tragedy! But Bardock never said a word. Why hadn’t he... ? He knew the future. Or was it too unspeakable for him to go into detail?

No. Bardock wasn’t weak like that. He was stronger than she was, at least in personality and mind. Setting her jaw, Watzu was going to give him a piece of her mind. And ask him about her dream and what he saw in it. Straight-up. 

“Hell yeah.” She nodded at herself confidently and marched from the bathroom and back into their bedroom. Watzu shoved Bardock with her foot, rolling him over. “Wakey wakey, bright eyes.” She flopped down onto the bed.

Bardock groaned. “...What time is it.”

“Early.” Was all Watzu would dignify. She didn’t even  _ want _ to know what time it was, though her phone said so. “I had a dream.” 

Bardock sat up. “...So you saw it.” 

“Saw  _ what _ .” Watzu crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. Bardock looked away for a moment, then focused back on her. 

“ _ Them. _ ” Was all he said. 

A roll of her eyes. “Them  _ who? _ ”

His jaw set and his lips pursed into a thin line. “...I can’t say more than that.” 

“Why?” 

“Because--” Bardock stopped himself and sighed, his voice was raised. He lowered it back down, “Because saying too much about the future changes it, often for the worse.” 

Watzu looked at him incredulously. “ _ What the fuck. _ ” She threw her arms in the air. “ _ What _ the  _ fuck! _ ” She exclaimed and stood from the bed and stalked to the corner of the room. She bit down on her thumbnail and chewed on it for a moment. Whipping back around, she narrowed her eyes at Bardock. “How the fucking hell do you  _ know _ this?”

“Because I tried to change the future,” He informed, “And only made it worse.” 

“I--” Watzu stopped, and swallowed. That... _ wow _ . That made things even  _ worse _ . So what was the point of his power, anyway?! He could see the future, but could do nothing to change or stop it? Cursed by some dying alien on a dying world just to  _ torment  _ him?! “What the  _ fuck _ !” 

“I know.” Bardock sighed and rolled his shoulders, “It’s some curse. I’m forever tormented by visions of a future I can see but cannot change.” He met Watzu’s gaze, “It’s why I haven’t said anything about...them.” 

She bit down on her nail again. A bad habit. “So, all these years we’ve been together...you never thought to talk to me about it?” Concern was in her voice, her brows furrowed. 

“It never came up.” Was all he said. 

“Oh, for  _ fucks _ sake, Bardock!” Watzu shouted, uncaring if anyone else in the flat heard her. “I am your  _ mate _ ! I’m here to care for and support you, just as you have been doing for  _ me! _ This is obviously some kind of torment for you, so you know you  _ can _ fucking talk to me about it to me! And not just this, but  _ anything! _ ” She gestured over her shoulder with her thumb, “ _ Including _ your asshole of a son, who is  _ still _ pretty much freeloading on our couch!” 

Bardock scoffed. “I’m a Saiyajin, Watzu. We don’t talk about our...weaknesses.” 

“Well you’re also on Earth now, buddy.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “ _ We do that here. _ ” 

Bardock paused. “...I am annoyed by Raditz.” 

“ _ That _ much is obvious.” Watzu rolled her eyes. “But seriously, talk to me.”

“...Those dreams of yours, coincide with my visions. Always.” Bardock muttered. “They’re  _ different _ , though. Similar, but more clouded and filled with  _ possibility _ instead of facts. Like you see a changing destiny while I see what will become.” 

“Weird.” Watzu raised a brow. “So you saw the same thing but mine is like...a different outcome, somehow?” 

“Always. I’m sure it’s the same this time, too.” 

“Great.” Another eyeroll. “Way to make more fuckin’ sense of this.” Trudging back along the carpet, Watzu flopped back into bed. “I saw meteors but they were probably Crush Pods. And an army of darkness, led by someone extra spiky.” She shrugged, “Then, everything was engulfed by shadow.” 

Bardock wrapped an arm around her shoulder and furrowed his brows. “Hrm.” 

“Similar to your vision?” 

“Yes.” 

“What was different?” 

Bardock’s jaw tightened. “The ending.” He paused, turning to stare at the ceiling. “Yours is more...bleak.”

“Well, fuckin’ fantastic.” Watzu muttered and cuddled up against him. “Shit, my dreams are usually a shitshow.” 

“I know.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Just...try to sleep it off. Remember to not let it affect you too much, Watzu.”

“Yeah yeah, being scared is a weakness, blah blah…” Watzu murmured and pulled the blankets up around her. “I ain’t scared. I got you big guy.” 

A chuckle. “Good.” 

\-----

“Good, good! Harder!” 

Kraut shrieked and began to kick and punch harder against his father’s guard, determined to break through it. Using his anger to fuel the strength of his punches, but without losing his focus. He had been working on focusing his anger into a tool the past year training with Vegeta and Piccolo like this, and had become a tough little boy in the process. 

“Yah!” Kraut kicked his father’s forearm and caused it to give way, where he pointed his palm at Vegeta’s face and fired a blast off at it, point-blank. Vegeta recoiled from it, though it didn’t end up hurting him. He still grinned at his son.

“Good. You’re improving.” 

“Heh heh.” Kraut grinned, flicking his nose with his thumb.

“But don’t get cocky!” Vegeta punched him in the face, hard enough to send him skidding backwards but not enough to actually hurt him. 

“Ow! Hey!!” Kraut pouted, but immediately laughed. “Good one, Dad!” 

“Training isn’t fun and games, boy!” Vegeta snapped, “Quit laughing and fight me like a man!” 

With a smirk, Kraut fell into a ready position, “Okay, you’re asking for it!” He began to dash towards Vegeta, but quickly skidded to a halt when he sensed a massive power heading straight towards them. It was massive, unfamiliar and  _ not very nice _ . “Uh, Dad…?” 

“Come here, Kraut.” The boy nodded and hurried to his father’s side, the pair scanning the skies for the owner of the power level. Vegeta, despite his relaxed positioning, was tense. He held himself at the ready, placing his hand on Kraut’s head and moving him slightly behind himself. Soon, Oniya’s power could be felt hurrying towards them. 

“Mom’s coming!” Kraut noted. Vegeta didn’t say anything, but only hoped she got here before that strange aura arrived. 

Mere moments later, she touched down beside them, and quickly looked towards the skies. “I came as fast as I could,” She narrowed her red eyes, “In Vega’s name,  _ what is that?”  _ She cursed the name of the Saiyajin’s Goddess of Battle, Vega, on this occasion. 

“I don’t know, but we should be ready.” Vegeta noted. Oniya nodded and tensed up. Their other allies were on the move too, sensing this massive power as well; but none of them would make it before the aura would reach them. 

Seconds felt like hours as the aura drew closer towards them. Less than a minute later, a figure appeared in the sky. Wearing Saiyajin armor. 

Vegeta squinted. He couldn’t make out who it was in the skies due to the position of the sun, but it was definitely a Saiyajin! How many more had survived the destruction of their race?! And how did he know to come here? 

“Hahahahaha!” A deep, gruff voice cackled. “I’m glad I came here first! Get to see Ojisama and Ohimesama all grown up! And their lil’ brat too!” Suddenly dropping down from the sky was a tall,  _ massive _ hulk of a man, who was completely bald but sporting a mustache from the 1980’s. “I see he inherited your eyes, Ohimesama! I guess Vega has blessed him as well!” 

“It’s just a legend. There isn’t any fact behind it.” Oniya hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. “I suppose you  _ would _ have survived the destruction of Vegetasei, wouldn’t you Nappa?” 

“Bahahaha! Of course!” Nappa bellowed, “And don’t doubt the  _ legends _ , Ohimesama! They state those born with red eyes will--”

“‘--Be blessed by the Goddess Vega and become a Legendary Super Saiyajin.’ Yes, I’ve heard it all before, Nappa.” Oniya groaned, rolling her eyes. 

“Mama?” Kraut questioned, looking up at his mother with wide, curious eyes. This was the first time he had heard that. Oniya wasn’t willing to talk about it though, more focused on the threat that was Nappa. 

“What are you doing here, Nappa?” Vegeta demanded. Nappa smirked over at the once-Saiyajin Prince. 

“Let’s just say Kakarot sent me over as a  _ forward scout _ .” He popped his neck left to right and then rolled his shoulders. “Take a measure of how strong you are! See how suitable the planet is!” 

“ _ Kakarot _ sent you?!” Vegeta fell into a defensive position, “Who is he? What does he want?”

“Oh, you don’t know him, do you Ojisama?” Nappa cackled, followed by a broad grin. “Why, he’s Bardock’s youngest! Was born right before Frieza destroyed our race! He now leads the remaining Saiyajins in Rebellion against Frieza, as well as an army of defectors!” He tilted his head, “Well, except for your merry band of misfits here on this backwater, that is. I guess you could say I’m here to… _ ” _ He inhaled deeply. “... _ Collect you. _ ” 

“No.” Vegeta was firm, glaring up at the brute of a Saiyajin before him. “Earth is my home and I will defeat Frieza on my  _ own _ terms!” 

“Really? Well, _ pity _ that.” Nappa cracked his jaw. “Guess I’ll have to--hmm?” His scouter beeped as a few more figures descended from the skies.

Watzu, Bardock, Raditz and even Yamara came down. “Sorry we’re late, got here as fuckin’ fast as we could!” Watzu announced, snapping her attention towards Nappa. She sneered. “ _ You. _ ”

“Yes,  _ me. _ ” He pointed at Raditz, “I see you’ve defected to  _ their _ side, Raditz.  _ Traitor. _ ” 

“What?! I haven’t done anything!” Raditz protested, but shut up when Bardock held his hand out. He swallowed hard. He looked between Nappa and Bardock, backing away from both uneasily. No way he could fight either of them on his own terms. It looked like, for now at least, he  _ was _ a traitor to his race. Another hard pit formed in his throat that he tried to swallow down, but it refused to budge. 

“Looks like I’ll have to take the trash out while I’m at it!” Nappa twisted his waist side to side, his shoulders popping while he did. “Kakarot won’t be happy to find out his brother, his own  _ flesh and blood _ , betrayed him ya’know.” 

Raditz pursed his lips. “I...I know.” He muttered.  _ Great _ . 

A few more powerful auras were approaching. Nappa looked up as, one by one, more defenders of the Earth began to descend. Piccolo, followed by Krillin, Tienshinhan and Chiaotzu, and finally Yamcha appeared. With everyone gathered, they had the upper hand against this lonely Saiyajin, who eyed everyone and whistled.

“Wooo, sure got a lot of you buggers!” He smirked, “But I’ve always liked a  _ challenge. _ ” 

“We’ll challenge you right on your  _ ass _ , more like!” Watzu taunted. 

Nappa snorted. “It’s all well and good, but you know... _ you _ could be leading the Rebellion and the army, if you had only stayed with us Ojisama.” He smirked widely at Vegeta when he said this. “But no, you had to  _ run off _ and hide on this pathetic little planet, have a  _ family _ and grow  _ soft _ . Leaving Kakarot to run the whole thing in your stead.”

Vegeta grit his teeth. “You’ll find I’m not soft at all, Nappa.” 

“And you, Bardock!” Nappa continued to taunt, “Don’t you even feel the least shred of guilt for Kakarot? The son you  _ abandoned _ ?” 

“He’s pretty damn good at doing that.” Raditz muttered under his breath. “Surprised he hasn’t abandoned these girls yet…” 

“I wasn’t any different than any other Saiyajin parent at the time.” Bardock snorted, his arms crossed. “Besides, Kakarot seems to be doing  _ well _ for himself these days.” 

Nappa scoffed. “Hmph.” 

“So are you actually gunna fight us, mister, or just blow  _ hot air?”  _ Yamara put one foot forward with her hands on her hips, smirking at him. For a ten-year-old, she sure was  _ feisty. _

“Why you little--” 

“Now!” 

In a flash, everyone launched off of the ground towards Nappa. The hulk of a Saiyajin smirked and jumped into the frey a moment later. He singled out the slowest one first - Yamcha. He elbowed the bandit in the head and grabbed onto his arm and chucked him into Krillin. Krillin skillfully caught Yamcha before any damage could be done. While the pair were distracted, he fired off a ki blast at them. It created a sizable explosion. With them picked off he spun around and lashed out with his legs towards Chiaotzu. Each foot hit him in the face, and Chiaotzu crashed down to the earth below. 

“Kiko Ho!” Tien shouted, releasing a triangular shaped ki blast from his hands. 

Nappa turned just in time to react to the attack. He lashed his hand out and batted it aside with ease. Tien fired off another blast, this time it hit Nappa right in the shoulder. It drove straight through his armor and into a near-by cliff, where the blast cut through the rocky face. Nappa growled and spun around, pointing his palm at Tien and firing off a massive blast of energy that caught him off-guard. It thrust him back into a cliff-face where it caused a sizable explosion, leaving Nappa to deal with the stronger foes. 

Vegeta honed in and began to fire a volley of punches and kicks. Nappa matched them at first. He was strong enough to meet him at half of Vegeta’s normal power, but he wasn’t the only one fighting. In came Oniya, who struck him in the back and towards her mate. Vegeta socked him in the jaw hard enough to bleed. While he was moving to the side, Watzu then kicked him in the jaw and hurtled him upwards. She laced her fingers together and drove him into the ground with her fists. Yamara swooped in and released a coil of flame from her now-ungloved hands and scorched the earth. 

Moments past. Nappa burst through the dust and grabbed onto the back of Watzu’s head and went to throw her. She elbowed him in the stomach and he released her. Another volley of punches and kicks. Vegeta and Oniya swooped in, with Piccolo and Kraut coming in behind him. Kraut landed blows on the backs of Nappa’s knees, and he cried out in pain. Nappa whirled around to counter-attack, but left his back wide open.

“Kamehame--”

“Gallic Gun--”

“HA!”

“FIRE!”

Oniya and Vegeta combined their beam attacks together in a swirling combination of ruby and blue towards Nappa’s back. Nappa turned in time to see it, but not to run. The beams hit him in the back. They continued towards a distant cliff face. They drove him into it and exploded, destroying a good portion of it. 

Moments later, the area exploded (again) with neutral energy, revealing a wounded, but still very much alive, Nappa. Most of his armor was destroyed, but he was now just  _ pissed off _ . 

“We have the advantage if we keep the heat up,” Piccolo noted, “He can pick us off one by one like he did back there if we allow him to.” 

By now, Krillin and the others had recovered from their previous attacks. “What do you propose we do?”

Vegeta looked towards Tien. Tien gave him a knowing look. Vegeta smirked.

“Solar Flare.” They both said at the same time. 

The group took off and towards Nappa again. He met them halfway. Before he could attack, Tien raised his hands. 

“Solar Flare!” He shouted. The light of the sun caught off of his hands and reflected outwards. Nappa had no idea what hit him; he was blinded in an instant.

“Gah! My eyes!!” He screamed, reaching for his eyes. Now they had a chance to strike while he had no idea what was going on. 

The group descended on him with a fierce array. Everyone landed a punch, a kick. One would punch into another person, who would kick him into another. Nappa became a living ping-pong ball. He was knocked around so much, blood was flying everywhere. Everyone got their turn in, and then some. 

While still under the effects of the Solar Flare, everyone separated. It was time to finish the job. 

“Kamehame…”

“Gallic Gun…”

“Kiko…”

  
“Makankossa…”

Everyone charged their beam attacks. Those that didn’t have their own simply charged ki blasts. Finally, as he blinked the sun out of his eyes, Nappa could see his doom coming for him.

“HA!”

“FIRE!”

“HO!”

“PPO!” 

“HAAAH!”

Beams came at him from all directions. All he could do was watch as his death approached. The seconds dragged on for years. And then, everything sped up too quickly, his life flashing before his eyes just moments before impact.

Squeezing his eyes closed, it happened at once.

The skies became illuminated with bright, brilliant lights as all of the beam attacks and ki blasts collided at once. Nappa could be heard crying out in pain. And, in a flash, it all died down. From the center of the blasts a charred body fell down and hit the ground... _ still alive. _ But just barely. 

Nappa coughed. 

“How are you still alive after all that?” Vegeta demanded, hovering down to where Nappa lay. 

“I...I-I’m like a fuckin’ space cockroach…?” Nappa forced a chuckle but ended up coughing more. He flopped his head back down and knew his end was over the horizon. He smirked up at everyone, now surrounding him, watching his final moments play out. “...All o-of you...are dead meat…”

“Pretty sure  _ you’re _ the one whose fuckin’ dead meat, fucko.” Watzu commented with crossed arms. 

Nappa chuckled again. “No, not f-from me. Me? I’m a d-damn goner…” He smirked. A devilish smirk that spread from one corner of his charred and burned face to to the other, practically splitting it in two. “But Kakarot is on his way. With his  _ entire army _ . He’ll be here soon…” Another cough, “And his army is full of Saiyajins j-just like me...s-stronger, even…” He cracked his eyes open, but could no longer see with them. He cackled. “And Ka-Kakarot? Is worth  _ tw-twenty  _ of me...hahahahahaha!” 

The others looked nervously at each other. 

Nappa coughed harder this time, his voice beginning to fade. “He’ll...b-be here...soon...just...yo-you watch...out…” Another cackle. “T-then...you’ll...all be.sorry...bahahahahahahaha…” He cackled again, before it suddenly stopped. He was no longer breathing. 

Dead. 

  
“Well... _ fuck. _ ” Was all Watzu said. 


	4. Face Off

It was a quiet day at CapsulCom, the gaming company Watzu worked at. 

It had all started as a small time gig where she was hired as a creative consultant for a martial arts-based action RPG at the indie gaming company, but they liked her general ideas so much she got hired full-time. Watzu had worked her way up over the years and now served as the creative director for the company, meaning she did a little bit of everything. From coding to 3D rendering, she did it all. 

And everyone knew in the company if they didn’t label their food, it was free reign for her. 

Sitting cross-legged at her computer, she munched on some leftover orange chicken while she cleaned up some animations in her office. They were working on a new RPG in their action series that she had initially worked on, which had been their biggest hit to date. That was, until her phone started to buzz. Jerking her head down, she noticed it said “Oniya.” 

Oh boy.

“Yep?” Watzu had a bad feeling about this. 

“Watzu? It’s Oniya.” 

“Is this about Azuuma?” Was her first question. Oniya looked after the three-year-old while Watzu and Bardock (and now, Raditz) were at work, since she was too young to go to school yet. And by “look after,” it was a mixture of playing and training. But Watzu always worried about her child, given how silent and reclusive she was; there was something not quite right about her youngest daughter, she knew it. And her gut feelings were, unfortunately, always right. 

“Yes.” Oniya was calm and collected as usual. “She’s fine, so don’t panic but…” Her voice trailed off, “...I think it’s best you see for yourself. I can’t rightfully explain over the phone.” 

_ Oh Vega. _ Watzu ran a hand down her face. “I’ll be there.” She hung up and zipped into the CEO’s office Mr. Foxworth. It should be obvious which species he was. He knew the troubles with Azuuma and knew she had to skip out of work sometimes to check up on her. This being one of those times, he let Watzu head out to see what was going on  _ this _ time. 

And like that, she blasted off into the skies of West City and headed towards Oniya and Vegeta’s home in Mount Paozu. 

\------

When she arrived, Oniya was still calm, but there was a noticeable wrinkle in her brow. Which was usually a  _ bad sign _ in the usually cool-as-cucumbers Oniya. She held onto Azuuma. Watzu barged into the house without taking her shoes off.

“Give her to me!” She demanded, arms outstretched. That wrinkle turned into a frown.

“Take your shoes off.” Oniya snapped. Though she was shorter and weaker than Watzu, she was pretty scary when she got mad. Watzu made a gesture with her hands, mouth open to speak, but that frown deepened. Groaning, Watzu flung her shoes off and made for her child.

Oniya passed Azuuma to her. “What’s going on, baby? You’re not sick, or hurt?” Watzu asked, not expecting a response. Azuuma was silent as usual, wrapping her little arms around her neck and nuzzling against her shoulder. “Come on, you can tell mama. I’m here.” Watzu bounced her in her arms. Still, Azuuma was silent. As she always was.

“Come along. I’ll...show you.” 

“Show me?” Watzu asked with a quirked brow. “What the hell happened?” 

Oniya looked off to the side with her brilliant red eyes, and sighed. She made a gesture for Watzu to follow along. They went from the house proper into the connected dojo, where Oniya held her martial arts classes. 

Watzu nearly dropped Azuuma when she saw the walls. 

Smeared across them with paint and marker was horrifying images of war and darkness. It looked almost exactly like Watzu’s dream. Figures in black marching through fire and destruction all around them. Crash Pods falling from a blood red sky. The world was burning; and in the middle of it marched a familiar figure with a familiar hairdo. Watzu gasped and clutched tightly to Azuuma, her eyes wide with fear. 

“I was teaching a class, so my back was to this. The students were doing their rounds while this was happening so they didn’t notice, either…” Oniya explained, “I left her with some art supplies in the corner, like I usually do. Most of the paper is just doodles and scribbles, like you’d expect four year olds to have. But then…” Oniya bent over and picked up a stack, and began to show it to Watzu. 

Drawings of the familiar looking figure with the same hairdo. She knew that hairstyle; it was Bardock’s. But it wasn’t him. Watzu felt it. He used to lead a group through destruction like that, but not anymore. Visions of the future had changed him. A future he couldn’t change. But the pictures didn’t stop with just that figure…

Watzu’s heart stopped when she saw another figure. Someone she  _ knew _ Azuuma couldn’t have drawn or even know about. She held tightly to her daughter, her skin blanching.

“That’s...that’s not...fuckin’ possible, is it…?” She breathed, lifting her green eyes to meet Oniya’s red ones.

“I don’t know, but we both know who it is.”

Watzu nodded and looked back to the drawing. In unison, both women said the name they almost darent say:

“Frieza.” 

\-----

Vegeta kicked through the still air, followed by a barrage of punches. He fought an invisible enemy in his mind at his training grounds one evening, alone. It had only been three weeks since Nappa had come and gone in a flash, but they knew more were coming. A lot more. More than Vegeta could have dreamed! 

But they were on opposing sides. As long as he breathed, he would protect this planet he had come to...respect. And he thirsted for the opportunity to come face-to-face against such powerful foes. 

So he trained as hard as he could by himself. Though dinner had come and gone and the sun was painting the skies red, he still trained. What Nappa had said stuck with him, that Kakarot was at least twenty times stronger than him. It really got Vegeta’s blood pumping! He’d be ready for him, that was for sure! 

“So this is where you train.” 

“What--” 

Vegeta whirled around to see a man sitting casually on one of the rocks near-by. He wore brown-and-black Saiyajin armor without the shoulders, baggy black pants and no sleeves, as well as black wrist bands. He was the spitting image of Bardock, save the scarring and being fairer skinned, and considerably shorter. He had a Saiyajin tail wrapped around his waist and a red scouter attached to his face. 

What startled Vegeta is he didn’t even  _ notice _ this man arrive. And he had no discernible aura. 

The Saiyajin smirked and popped up from the rock where he sat, standing at his full height - shorter than Bardock, but taller than Vegeta - and put his fists on his hips. “Sorry for barging in, Ojisan. I just  _ had _ to come and see you before everyone else.” He made a gesture for Vegeta’s height. “I  _ was _ expecting someone a bit, hmm... _ taller _ , I guess?”

“Why you--” Vegeta started, but the Saiyajin snapped a hand out and wagged a finger at him.

“Ah-ah. I’m not here to  _ fight _ you.” He then smirked, “Well, unless you  _ really  _ wanna.” He shrugged his shoulders and replaced his hands on his hips, beginning to walk closer to Vegeta. Vegeta felt the urge to recoil, but decided to stand his ground and crossed his arms. “Naw, I’d rather talk. At least, for now.” 

“And who the hell am I talking to?” 

“Oh! Right. I’m being rude.” The Saiyajin laughed. “I’m Kakarot. I believe Nappa mentioned me?” 

Vegeta scoffed, then smirked. “ _ I  _ was expecting someone taller.” 

Kakarot was taken aback. “Oh! You’re a funny one. I like that.” He matched Vegeta’s smirk. Vegeta wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, and sneered.

“Why are you here, if you’re not going to fight me?” 

“Oh, right. About that!” Kakarot papped his right fist into his left hand. “You see, I very much want you to join up with our little rebellion.” Vegeta went to open his mouth, but Kakarot kept talking. “I know, you’ve already said no out of respect for the planet or whatever, I get it. But look: our goal is the same. You hate Frieza. I hate Frieza. We both want him  _ dead _ . Backwater be damned, am I right?” 

Vegeta sneered again, “Unfortunately for you, I like it here.” He informed, “It’s proven a good hiding spot from Frieza and his men while I train up to  _ destroy _ him.” He leaned forward, glaring darkly up at Kakarot, “And whether you like it or not,  _ I will _ be the one to kill him.” 

“Sure, whatever.” Kakarot gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “But that’s  _ exactly why _ I want this planet for my rebellion.” He snickered, jabbing his finger down at Vegeta’s chest. “And there isn’t anything you can do to stop us, little man. Earth  _ will  _ submit one way or another.” 

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. “We’ll see about that, Kakarot.” He swatted the offending hand away. 

“Oh, ouch!” Kakarot mocked, “So  _ strong  _ you are, little man.”

“Don’t  _ call  _ me that, fool.” 

“Oh yeah? And what are you going to do to stop me from--” 

Vegeta had enough. He socked Kakarot right in the jaw. The other Saiyajin’s head snapped backwards, but he lowered it again moments later. He smirked down at Vegeta and licked his lips. 

“Not bad, not bad. I can do better!” He then punched Vegeta in the jaw, sending him into the air. While in the air, he then kicked Vegeta in the sides. Off he went! Vegeta grunted and recoiled in the air, skidding to a stop over the rocky waste. He wiped saliva from his mouth and glared over at Kakarot, who had crossed his arms and turned on his heel to face him. “What’s wrong, little man? Got no fight left after that?” 

Vegeta growled and took off of the ground towards Kakarot. He swung at his head, which missed. He kicked him in the side, which Kakarot blocked; another swing and a miss. This back and forth continued while Kakarot continued to dodge Vegeta’s attacks kept on missing or were blocked. But he was pushing the bastard back towards the tree-line! If he kept on pushing, he’d have the bastard in a corner!

“This is boring.” Kakarot yawned. Vegeta glared incredulously at Kakarot and tried to pick up the pace, but the bastard just kept dodging! Yawning again, Kakarot then slammed his fist into Vegeta’s stomach, causing blood to come out of his lungs. Vegeta staggered backwards and held his aching abdomen, barely able to breathe he had been hit so hard. “I thought the Saiyajin Prince would put up more of a fight than this.” He groaned, rolling his eyes down at Vegeta. 

“Wh-why you…!!” Vegeta grunted, snapping his hand out and releasing a powerful ki blast. Kakarot just swatted it away though without any effort. 

“And this, the man who so easily defeated Nappa! Hah!” Kakarot gave a short, mocking laugh. “That didn’t even  _ sting _ , Vegeta. Come on, you can do better than that!” 

“I’ll show you, you overstuffed zealot!” Planting his feet, Vegeta began to growl as he unleashed his power. The scouter on Kakarot’s face flashed to life, registering the shift in Vegeta’s power level. 

“Oooh, pulling on your big boy britches now, are we?” Kakarot mocked again, smirking and tilting his head to the side. “Hiding your true power from me was very  _ stupid _ , my Prince. You should’ve gone all out to begin with!” 

“Shut...up…!” Vegeta growled between clenched teeth. If this asshole wanted full power, he was going to get it! Right in his perfect teeth! 

“Why, when mocking you is so much  _ fun? _ ” Kakarot chuckled, leaning forward again. “Go ahead, prince. Give me your best shot. I’ll even lower my guard for you this time.” He tapped his chin. “As hard as you can, no holding back! Break my teeth!” 

“I’ll make sure you’re spitting your teeth through your goddamn  _ nose _ , you bastard!” Vegeta roared, charging forward and thrusting his hand upward, landing a hard punch against the assholes jaw. It caught Kakarot by surprise, launching him right into the air. 

“Wha...what the….” Kakarot said breathlessly, having the wind totally knocked out of him. 

Vegeta followed up by appearing behind him and thrusting both legs into Kakarot’s spine. This, too, caught him off guard. The Saiyajin went crashing into the forest below, creating a large crater. Vegeta held his hands to his hips.

“Kamehameha!” He shouted, releasing a huge blast of energy down towards where Kakarot fell. 

It never collided with the ground. Instead it was met with a sphere of orange energy, that began to push back against it. And against it, and against it; finally it cut through the continuous ki blast and was upon Vegeta, catching him in it’s sphere. Vegeta let out a scream as it exploded around him, lighting the darkening skies a brilliant shade of orange-and-yellow. 

When it faded, Vegeta fell to the ground. 

Kakarot appeared over him and stomped on his chest. “Not a bad few shots, but you bruised my ego more than me.” He sighed, looking down at the crispy Saiyajin prince. “Still waiting to see that full power, little man.” He crossed his arms and leaned down towards Vegeta.

Vegeta spat in his face. “Fuck you.” 

Kakarot, now disgruntled, wiped the spit away with one finger. “Hmph. I was expecting a lot more from you. But like your height, you’re a  _ disappointment. _ ” 

“I’ll show you!” Vegeta struggled to get up, but Kakarot laughed. 

“Hahahaha! You really think you can do anything to me in that state? Pathetic!” He cackled, “No, I think my work here is done.” He removed his foot from Vegeta’s chest and jumped into the air, where he hovered. “I’ve seen all I  _ needed  _ to see, Ojisan. Rest up, because things are  _ only _ going to get a lot harder from here on out!” Saluting to Vegeta, Kakarot then blasted into the skies and disappeared. 

Vegeta grunted and rolled over onto his stomach. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, and staggered to his feet. “Goddamn bastard...he beat me, fair and square…” Wiping his mouth, Vegeta glared at the horizon Kakaort had disappeared over. “But I will not stop until I beat him!”

\-----

By the time Vegeta staggered home, it was dark.

“Oji! Are you alright? You look like hell!” Oniya gasped when he came through the door and took off his shoes. 

“I’ll live,” Vegeta assured, “Call everyone. We have an emergency.” 

Within 30 minutes, everyone had crammed together in their quaint little home in the mountains. Oniya made sure everyone had tea and there were rice crackers available on the coffee table. 

Vegeta sat in  _ his _ armchair. No one else dared to sit in it, and he had a long day. Well, it hadn’t even been a day; it had been a long fifteen minutes. It felt like years though, his interaction with Kakarot. He had his face in his hands, and had changed out of his gi into less tattered clothing. Oniya had slathered ointment on his burns and scrapes, but that was what he had made out with. It could’ve been a lot worse. 

“So what’s this about, Vegeta?” Krillin asked, “It’s not like you to call us together just  _ because. _ ” 

“Especially since we don’t exactly fit in your living room.” Tien commented. It was rather cramped with everyone in there, including Piccolo, who had served the last year and some change as Kraut’s instructor. Hell, his shoulder pads alone prevented him from  _ entering  _ the living room, so he stood in the doorway. 

Vegeta ran his hands down his face and looked up. “Kakarot is here.” 

A startled silence overtook the room, followed by whispers amongst everyone gathered. All eyes soon fell upon Bardock, who remained silent. 

“How do you know?” Yamcha asked. 

“I met with him.” Vegeta said, “He was  _ waiting _ for me at my training grounds this evening. Must have figured my power level from Raditz’ scouter levels or something.” 

“But we haven’t had any reports of alien landings or anything weird!” Bulma exclaimed, “If he was arriving with a full army, surely we would’ve known about it, right?” 

“They must be keeping everything hush hush, in secret.” Piccolo stated, crossing his arms, “They would want the element of surprise. Both for the denizens of the planet and for us...though that doesn’t explain why Kakarot would just come and see Vegeta like that.”

“Kakarot is quirky like that.” Raditz muttered while scratching his head. “He’s - ugh - a bit like mother like that. He’s a playful one, but still cold and bad to the bone. He’s not one to underestimate!” 

“Regrettably.” Vegeta grumbled. 

“What? Did you actually  _ fight _ him?” Raditz gasped, recoiling. 

“Yeah.”

“He let you  _ live?!” _ Raditz was taken aback. “That’s weird, even for him!”

Another hushed silence. “So you’re fuckin’ tellin’ me that Kakarot kills his pray?” Watzu questioned. 

“Yeah,” Raditz crossed his arms, “He’s merciless. Sure, he plays with who he fights, but when he’s serious he kills everyone he fights against. No opponent of his ever lives to tell the tale.” He looked over at Vegeta. “He must respect you a great deal.” 

“Hmph. Didn’t feel like he does.” Vegeta muttered, glaring at Raditz. “Either way, he trounced me. We are in no way prepared to fight him, or his army.”

“Damn.” Came several responses across the room.

“Wait, why didn’t Bardock tell us they’d come so soon?” Bulma asked, whipping around to look pointedly at him. “Doesn’t he know this stuff is going to happen before it does?!” 

Bardock shrugged. “I can see the future, but I can’t change it.” He commented, “You would have been woefully unprepared regardless of what I said.” 

“Well,  _ fuck. _ ” Watzu rubbed her temples. “So  _ that’s  _ what my dream was telling me.” 

“Regardless of who saw what or dreamed of, we are in the present now and presently, we are figuratively caught with our pants down.” Oniya said with a small sigh, “We must do what we can to gain an advantage over them.” 

“How? They’re stronger than most of us…” Krillin noted, “If we team up we could take down the Saiyajins one at a time, but we don’t know how strong the rest of the army is! Or how many of them there are, either.” 

“And there’s only so many of us.” Tienshinhan added, “The rest of the Earth will be unable to do anything against Kakarot and his army besides us.” 

Oniya nodded her head, “Regardless, it would be unwise for us to go alone to take them on. Our best bet is to travel in groups to do anything against them.” Her eyes swept the crammed group, stuffed in her living room, “And even more so if we try to take on the army as-is. We would need to pick off sections or individuals, it would seem.”

“But we can’t just wait for them to make a move!” Bulma slammed her hands down onto the coffee table, “If we do, it’ll be too late to save those people! Unless we use the Dragonballs, of course. But we shouldn’t  _ need _ to unless--”

“The Dragon’s  _ what? _ ” Raditz blinked, looking over at Bulma.

“One year, Bulma. You made it one fuckin’ year.” Watzu slapped her palm to her face and groaned. 

“...Oops…” Bulma flushed pink and leaned back on the sofa. 

“There’s no use in hiding it anymore. It’s not like he has a scouter on him or is working with the other side.” Vegeta noted while crossing his arms. “We may as well tell him.” 

Bulma explained how the Dragonballs worked to Raditz, whose eyes gradually got wider and wider. Soon, they had stars in them. Especially when it came to “any wish you could want” was stated. 

“You mean I could become stronger through them?!” He exclaimed.

“Err, only if it’s within the power of the Dragon.” Bulma noted with an uneasy grin, “I don’t think it works like that, though.” 

Immediately he deflated. “Oh.” Raditz sighed. Vegeta grunted. Poor Raditz, always a disappointment. Maybe one day he would be strong enough to win his father’s approval. Maybe. 

“Anyway, we need a plan. We should find a way to strike first.” Bulma dragged them back to the topic at hand. 

“How? We don’t even know where the army is.” Piccolo grunted, his arms still crossed. He looked uncomfortable standing in the hallway all by himself. Vegeta felt vindicated somehow that he didn’t fit in the living room with those ridiculous shoulder pads of his. 

All eyes went to Bardock. He coughed. “I...guess I could direct you to where they are.” He shrugged his shoulders and popped his neck. “Shouldn’t affect the future too much.” 

“Hmph.” Piccolo snorted and averted his gaze. Which wasn’t hard to do, considering he was too tall to see into the living room without bending over to peer in. He just had to stand up straight. Vegeta tried not to snicker at his precarious positioning. 

“Now we need to figure out how to strike…” Bulma pressed a hand to her chin, thinking. 

Everyone else followed suit. Except Bardock, who already knew what their plan was. The bastard. But he probably couldn’t speak up because it would “change the future” or some horseshit like that. Vegeta didn’t like him that much because of that. He wasn’t even sure if that future sight crap was true, anyway. Maybe he made it up for prosperity reasons. 

After a few moments, Oniya spoke up. “What about their scouters?” 

“What about them?” Vegeta questioned with a raised brow. 

“Well, they can’t sense aura’s like we can. They’d be blind in the storm, as it were, without them.” Oniya explained, holding her hands out and looking about the room as she said it, “They wouldn’t know where we are, or where civilization is, without them. They would need to find both manually.” 

“Oh Oniya, you’re positively brilliant!” Bulma exclaimed, “I would hug you if I wasn’t pinned between Yamcha and Tien right now!” She held her arms out anyway from the couch and beamed at Oniya. Oniya showed her a small smile in return, about the most she ever gave anyone that wasn’t her own family. 

Vegeta smirked at his mate. Damn, he was proud of her. He couldn’t have found a better woman to have bonded with. Oniya looked down at him in his chair and met his smirk with one of her own, her red eyes sparkling. 

“Well, what are we fuckin’ waiting for? Let’s get a raid group with Bardock’s directions and be done with it!” Said Watzu, all too enthusiastically. 

**Author's Note:**

> I felt seriously dirty writing Vegeta firing a Kamehameha XD 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
